Man, there's a lot of sympathy for criminals in this thread. While there are always marginal cases that pull at the heart strings, generally speaking I don't actually care that rapists are having a bad time of it in prison. I genuinely don't. And that ambivalence extends to other criminal categories too. Usually this conversation devolves into a conversation around drug prosecutions and what many people see as excessive penalties. Historically, my answer has been that I favor drug legalization (meaning that's not so much a conversation about prisons sucking too much, but rather whether we're enforcing the right laws). But I have to admit I've grown more skeptical of legalization as I've seen what rampant drug use has done to west coast cities. Prison sentences, particularly uncomfortable ones, do in fact serve to deter crime, even if not all of it.